Display device

ABSTRACT

A display device reduces or minimizes a stress applied to a display panel in a folded state. The display device includes a display panel including a bendable area; and a panel support portion combined to the display panel and including a multi-joint member to support the bendable area, and the multi-joint member includes: a plurality of hard material portions sequentially arranged in a first direction, mutually combined to be rotated with respect to one another, and including a first surface arranged toward the bendable area; and a soft material portion contacting the first surface and fixed to the plurality of hard material portions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/405,054, filed on May 7, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/787,621, filed on Oct. 18, 2017, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,314,184, which claims priority to and the benefit of KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2016-0146023, filed on Nov. 3, 2016 in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the entire content of each of whichis incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

Aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a displaydevice.

2. Description of the Related Art

A flexible display panel is a display panel generated by disposing aplurality of pixels on a flexible substrate such as a plastic film, andit is easily bendable. Recently, foldable display devices using theflexible display panel have been under research and development. Thefoldable display device includes a panel support portion for supportinga flexible display panel. The panel support portion is configured to bechangeable between a folded state and an unfolded state.

Part of the flexible display panel is bent while it is folded, and abending degree must be less than a threshold value determined inconsideration of a characteristic of a material that is weak indeformation from among a plurality of materials configuring the flexibledisplay panel, for example, an inorganic material. The life span of thefoldable display device may be longer when the stress applied to theflexible display panel is reduced while the foldable display device isfolded.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the describedtechnology and, therefore, it may contain information that does not formthe prior art that is already known in this country to a person ofordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a foldable displaydevice is provided. According to another aspect of the presentdisclosure, in a display device, a stress provided to a flexible displaypanel while the display device is folded is reduced or minimized.

According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a display deviceincludes a display panel and a panel support portion. The display panelincludes a bendable area. The panel support portion is combined to adisplay panel, and includes a multi-joint member to support the bendablearea. The multi-joint member includes a plurality of hard materialportions and soft material portions. The hard material portions aresequentially arranged in a first direction, are mutually combined to berotated with respect to one another, and include a first surfacearranged toward the bendable area. A soft material portion contacts eachfirst surface and is fixed to the hard material portions.

The soft material portion may be provided on the first surface. The hardmaterial portions may respectively include two second surfaces connectedto respective edges of the first surface, and a third surface oppositeto the first surface. The soft material portion may be on the two secondsurfaces and the third surface.

The multi-joint member may include a plurality of support sides facingthe bendable area, and the support sides may be made of the softmaterial portion. In a folded state, edges of the respective supportsides may receive a pressure from the bendable area, and a portioncorresponding to the respective edges from among the soft materialportion may be compressed and transformed by the pressure.

In an embodiment, the two soft material portions may be provided onrespective sides of the first surface in the first direction. The twosoft material portions may respectively include a fourth surface that isparallel to the first surface, and may form a triangular shape in across-sectional view. A combination of the hard material portion and thetwo soft material portions may form a trapezoidal shape in across-sectional view.

The hard material portion may be combined to the two soft materialportions in a protrusion-groove configuration. The multi-joint membermay include a plurality of support sides facing the bendable area. Thesupport sides may respectively include the first surface provided in acenter thereof, and the two fourth surfaces provided on respective sidesof the first surface.

In the folded state, the two fourth surfaces included in the respectivesupport sides may receive a pressure from the bendable area, and the twofourth surfaces included in the soft material portion may be compressedand transformed by the pressure.

The hard material portions may be combined to each other by a pluralityof rotation combiners, and the rotation combiners may be providedoutside the respective sides of the display panel in a second directioncrossing the first direction. The respective rotation combiners may beconfigured with a hinge assembly, and the hinge assembly may include ahinge shaft about which the hard material portions are rotatable.

In an embodiment, the soft material portion may include a plate portionfacing an entire side of the bendable area. The plate portion mayinclude a plurality of overlapped portions overlapping the firstsurfaces of the hard material portions, and a plurality of connectorsbetween the overlapped portions.

A side of the plate portion facing the bendable area may define a singlesupport side of the multi-joint member. In the folded state, theconnectors may be bent by an external force and may function as therotation shaft. The connector may include a recess portion in a circulararc shape on a side that is opposite to the bendable area.

In the folded state, the connectors may receive a pressure from thebendable area and may be compressed and transformed. The hard materialportions may respectively include two second surfaces connected torespective edges of the first surface, and a third surface opposite tothe first surface. The soft material portion may further include anextension provided on the two second surfaces and the third surface.

The hard material portion may include a material selected from a metaland a high strength plastic, and the soft material portion may include amaterial selected from silicone and polyurethane.

According to an aspect of one or more exemplary embodiments, the displaydevice may reduce the stress received by the display panel by acompressive transformation of the soft material portion. Therefore, thedisplay device may reduce a possibility of damage of the display panelto increase the durability and life span of the product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of an unfolded state of adisplay device according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a combined state of a displaydevice with respect to a line II-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a partial enlarged view of a display device shown in FIG.2.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a rotation combiner of a displaydevice shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a folded state of a displaydevice shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 shows a partial enlarged view of a display device shown in FIG.5.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a multi-joint member in a case inwhich a display panel is removed from a display device shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 shows a partial enlarged view of a folded state of a displaydevice according to a comparative example.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of an unfolded state of a displaydevice according to another exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of a folded state of a displaydevice shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 shows a partial enlarged view of a display device shown in FIG.10.

FIG. 12 shows an exploded perspective view of an unfolded state of adisplay device according to another exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional view of a combined state of a displaydevice with respect to a line XIII-XIII of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 shows a partial enlarged view of a display device shown in FIG.13.

FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional view of a folded state of a displaydevice shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 16 shows a partial enlarged view of a display device shown in FIG.15.

FIG. 17 shows a cross-sectional view of an unfolded state of a displaydevice according to another exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 18 shows a cross-sectional view of a folded state of a displaydevice shown in FIG. 17.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which some exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure are shown. As those skilled in the artwould realize, the described embodiments may be modified in variousdifferent ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the presentdisclosure.

Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numeralsdesignate like elements throughout the specification.

The size and thickness of each configuration shown in the drawings maybe arbitrarily shown for better understanding and ease of description,and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In the drawings, thethicknesses of layers, films, panels, areas, etc., may be exaggeratedfor clarity. For example, for better understanding and ease ofdescription, the thicknesses of some layers and areas may beexaggerated.

It will be understood that when an element, such as a layer, film, area,or substrate, is referred to as being “on” another element, it may bedirectly on the other element or intervening elements may also bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyon” another element, there are no intervening elements present.

The words “on” or “above” mean positioned on or below the objectportion, and does not necessarily mean positioned on the upper side ofthe object portion based on a gravitational direction.

Unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” andvariations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood toimply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of anyother elements.

The phrase “on a plane” means viewing the object portion from the top,and the phrase “on a cross-section” means viewing a cross-section ofwhich the object portion is vertically cut from the side.

FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of an unfolded state of adisplay device according to an exemplary embodiment; FIG. 2 shows across-sectional view of a combined state of a display device withrespect to a line II-II of FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 shows a partial enlargedview of a display device shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a display device 100 according to anexemplary embodiment includes a display panel 10 and a panel supportportion 20 combined to the display panel 10 and supporting the displaypanel 10.

The display panel 10 includes a flexible substrate 11 and a display unit12 provided on the flexible substrate 11. In an embodiment, the flexiblesubstrate 11 may include a plastic film, and the display unit 12 mayinclude a plurality of pixels and a plurality of driving circuits. Thedisplay panel 10 may be any of an organic light emitting panel, a liquidcrystal panel, and an electrophoretic display panel, but is not limitedthereto.

The display panel 10 includes a flat area (FA) and a bendable area (BA).In an embodiment, for example, the display panel 10 may be divided intoa bendable area (BA) provided in a center thereof, and two flat areas(FA) provided on respective sides of the bendable area (BA). Lengths ofthe two flat areas (FA) in a first direction (e.g., an X direction) maybe equal to or different from each other.

In an embodiment, the panel support portion 20 may include two supportplates 30 corresponding to the two flat areas (FA), and a multi-jointmember 40 corresponding to the bendable area (BA). The multi-jointmember 40 includes a plurality of hard material portions 41 sequentiallyarranged in the first direction (e.g., the X direction), and softmaterial portions 42 fixed to the hard material portions 41.

In an embodiment, the respective hard material portions 41 may have abar shape extending in a second direction (e.g., a Y direction) crossingthe first direction (e.g., the X direction), and may have a trapezoidalshape in the cross-sectional view. In an embodiment, the hard materialportion 41 may include a first surface 411 provided toward the bendablearea (BA), two second surfaces 412 connected to respective edges of thefirst surface 411, and a third surface 413 provided to be opposite tothe first surface 411. In an embodiment, the second surfaces 412 areslanted sides, and the third surface 413 is shorter than the firstsurface 411.

The soft material portion 42 is provided on the first surface 411 of thehard material portion 41 and contacts a side of the bendable area (BA)instead of the hard material portion 41. The multi-joint member 40includes a plurality of support sides 43 facing the bendable area (BA).The support sides 43 may contact each other and neighbor each other,and, in an exemplary embodiment, the support sides 43 are made of thesoft material portion 42.

Two support plates 30 may be combined to the hard material portions 41by a plurality of rotation combiners 50. The rotation combiners 50 maybe provided to respective outsides of the display panel 10 in the seconddirection (e.g., the Y direction). In an embodiment, the rotationcombiners 50 respectively have a rotation shaft 51, and the hardmaterial portions 41 may be respectively rotated with respect to tworotation shafts 51.

In an embodiment, the rotation combiner 50 may be configured with ahinge assembly having a hinge shaft, and, in this case, the rotationshaft 51 includes the hinge shaft. FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional viewof a rotation combiner shown in FIG. 1, according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the rotation combiner 50 may include a first linkarm 52 connected to one of the hard material portions 41, a second linkarm 53 connected to another of the hard material portions 41, and ahinge shaft 54 passing through the first link arm 52 and the second linkarm 53 and combining the same. However, a configuration of the rotationcombiner 50 is not limited to the illustrated example.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, in an embodiment, the flat area (FA) ofthe display panel 10 may be attached to the support plate 30 by anadhesive layer (not shown). The bendable area (BA) of the display panel10 may not be attached to the multi-joint member 40. That is, in theunfolded state, the bendable area (BA) of the display panel 10 maymaintain contact with the support sides 43 or stay slightly afloat fromthe support sides 43.

In an embodiment, the hard material portion 41 may include a metal, suchas aluminum, or a high strength plastic. The multi-joint member 40 mayhave mechanical strength by the plurality of hard material portions 41.The soft material portion 42 has an elastic modulus such that it may becompressed and transformed when a pressure is applied, and may berestored to the initial state when the pressure is removed. The softmaterial portion 42 may include silicone or a rubber material, such aspolyurethane.

The soft material portion 42 is provided on the first surface 411 of thehard material portion 41, and may be additionally provided on the secondsurface 412 and the third surface 413 of the hard material portion 41.FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate a case in which the soft material portion42 covers the first surface 411, the second surfaces 412, and the thirdsurface 413 of the hard material portion 41. When the soft materialportion 42 covers the entire surface of the hard material portion 41 andnot just part of the surface thereof, the process for manufacturing amulti-joint member 40 may be simplified.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a folded state of a displaydevice shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 5, regarding the display device 100, a plurality ofhard material portions 41 rotate with respect to a rotation shaft 51,and the bendable area (BA) of the display panel 10 is bent to be an arc,such as a circular arc, and is changed into the folded state. FIG. 5shows the multi-joint member 40 being configured having six jointmembers; however, the number of joint members is not limited to theillustrated example.

In an embodiment, in the folded state, the two support plates 30 faceeach other, and sides of the multi-joint members 40 may closely contacteach other. The plurality of support sides 43 included in themulti-joint member 40 contact one side of the bendable area (BA) that isbent. In this instance, as the soft material portion 42 occupies theplurality of support sides 43, the stress applied to the display panel10 in the folded state may be reduced or minimized by the transformationof the soft material portion 42.

FIG. 6 shows a partial enlarged view of a display device shown in FIG.5; and FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a multi-joint member in acase in which a display panel is removed from a display device shown inFIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 7, in the folded state, neighboring ones of theplurality of support sides 43 included in the multi-joint member 40contact each other at a first point P1. The first point P1 is providedfrom a curvature center (C) of the bendable area (not shown) that isbent by a first distance D1.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the folded state, a plurality of support sides43 receive a pressure from the bendable area (BA) that is bent, and aretransformed. The pressure applied to the support side 43 by the bendablearea (BA) that is bent is highest at the respective edges of the supportside 43, and the pressure is lowest at the center of the support side43. The soft material portion 42 occupying the support side 43 iscompressed and transformed at the edge of the support side 43.

In FIG. 6, a plurality of support sides 43 contact each other at thesecond point P2, and a second point P2 is provided from the curvaturecenter (C) of the bendable area that is bent by a second distance D2.The second distance D2 has a smaller value than the first distance D1shown in FIG. 7 because of the compression and transformation of thesoft material portion 42.

When a pressure is applied, the soft material portion 42 is transformedto reduce the stress received by the display panel 10, and ease thetension of the bendable area (BA). Therefore, in the folded state, thedisplay device 100 may control or reduce generation of defects andpermanent transformation of the display panel 10, such as cracks or thelike. The soft material portion 42 is restored into the initial formwhen it is changed to the unfolded state.

FIG. 8 shows a partial enlarged view of a folded state of a displaydevice according to a comparative example.

Referring to FIG. 8, regarding the display device according to thecomparative example, a multi-joint member 401 does not include a softmaterial portion. That is, the multi-joint member 401 is configured witha hard material portion.

In the case of the comparative example, in the folded state, a thirdpoint P3 where a plurality of support sides 43 contact each other isprovided outside a virtual circular arc (ISC) for connecting upper sidesof the two support plates 30. Therefore, the multi-joint member 401pushes the bendable area (BA) of the display panel 10 in an outwarddirection (i.e. a direction away from the curvature center (C)) from aplurality of third points P3 to transform the same.

The bendable area (BA) of the display panel 10 is partly bent at aportion contacting the plurality of third points P3, and the stresssubstantially increases at this portion. The above-noted benttransformation increases a probability of damage of a layer that issensitive to a transformed amount from among multilayers configuring thedisplay panel 10.

For example, the display panel 10 may be configured with multilayersincluding a flexible substrate, a display unit, an encapsulation layer,a touch sensor, a polarization film, and a cover window. In thisinstance, a hard coating layer of the cover window or an inorganicinsulating layer of the display unit may have a brittle property and maybe easily damaged by transformation. Therefore, regarding the displaydevice according to the comparative example, in the folded state, it maybe highly probable that a specific layer of the display panel may bedamaged by a steep increase of stress.

By contrast, the display device 100 according to the exemplaryembodiment may reduce the stress received by the display panel 10 in thefolded state by compression and transformation of the soft materialportion 42 occupying the plurality of support sides 43. Therefore, thedisplay device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment may reduce apossibility of damage of the display panel 10 and may increase thedurability and the life span of the product.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of an unfolded state of a displaydevice according to another exemplary embodiment; FIG. 10 shows across-sectional view of a folded state of a display device shown in FIG.9; and FIG. 11 shows a partial enlarged view of a display device shownin FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 9 to FIG. 11, regarding a display device 200 accordingto another exemplary embodiment, a plurality of hard material portions41 respectively include a first surface 411 provided toward the bendablearea (BA), and two soft material portions 42 contacting the firstsurface 411 are provided at respective sides of the first surface 411. Aplurality of hard material portions 41 may respectively be substantiallytrapezoidal from which two upper edges are removed in a cross-sectionalview. The two soft material portions 42 respectively include a fourthsurface 421 that is parallel to the first surface 411.

Regarding a multi-joint member 40A according to an exemplary embodiment,a plurality of support sides 43 facing the bendable area (BA) areconfigured with the first surface 411 made of the hard material portion41 and provided at the center, and two fourth surfaces 421 provided atrespective sides of the first surface 411 and made of the soft materialportion 42. The two soft material portions 42 may be substantiallytriangular in a cross-sectional view, and a combination of the hardmaterial portion 41 and the two soft material portions 42 may betrapezoidal in a cross-sectional view.

The soft material portion 42 may be combined to the hard materialportion 41 by a protrusion-groove configuration or scheme. FIG. 9 toFIG. 11 show an embodiment in which the soft material portion 42includes a protrusion 44, the hard material portion 41 includes a groove45, and the protrusion 44 of the soft material portion 42 is insertedinto the groove 45 of the hard material portion 41.

When the display device 200 is changed to the folded state from theunfolded state, sides of the multi-joint member 40A closely contact eachother, and a plurality of support sides 43 contact each other at afourth point P4. The fourth point P4 represents a point at which thefourth surfaces 421 of two neighboring soft material portions 42 contacteach other. The bendable area (BA) that is bent pressurizes therespective edges of the support side 43 such that the soft materialportion 42 is compressed and transformed by the pressure.

Neighboring ones of the plurality of support sides 43 contact each otherat a fifth point P5 by the transformation of the soft material portion42. The fifth point P5 is provided closer to the curvature center (C) ofthe bendable area (BA) than the fourth point P4. The soft materialportion 42 is compressed and transformed in the folded state to reducethe stress received by the display panel 10 and ease the tension of thebendable area (BA). The soft material portion 42 is restored to theinitial state when the pressure is removed.

The display device 200 according to an exemplary embodiment is providedwith a same or similar configuration as that of the above-describeddisplay device 100 except for the cross-sectional shapes of the hardmaterial portion 41 and the soft material portion 42.

FIG. 12 shows an exploded perspective view of an unfolded state of adisplay device according to another exemplary embodiment; FIG. 13 showsa cross-sectional view of a combined state of a display device withrespect to a line XIII-XIII of FIG. 12; and FIG. 14 shows a partialenlarged view of a display device shown in FIG. 13.

Referring to FIG. 12 to FIG. 14, regarding a display device 300according to another exemplary embodiment, a multi-joint member 40Bincludes a plurality of hard material portions 41 sequentially arrangedin the first direction (e.g., the X direction) with a distancetherebetween, and a soft material portion 46 provided between aplurality of hard material portions 41 and a bendable area (BA) andintegrally connecting a plurality of hard material portions 41.

The hard material portion 41 may include a first surface 411 providedtoward the bendable area (BA), two second surfaces 412 connected torespective edges of the first surface 411, and a third surface 413provided to be opposite to the first surface 411. In an embodiment, thesecond surfaces 412 are slanted sides, and the third surface 413 isshorter than the first surface 411.

In an embodiment, the soft material portion 46 may include a plateportion 461 facing an entire side of the bendable area (BA), and anextension 465 connected to the plate portion 461 and covering the secondsurface 412 and the third surface 413 of the plurality of hard materialportions 41. The plate portion 461 may include, or be divided into,overlapped portions 462 overlapping the respective first surfaces 411 ofthe plurality of hard material portions 41, and a connector 463 providedbetween neighboring ones of the overlapped portions 462.

A multi-joint member 40B according to an exemplary embodiment includes asupport side 43 formed to be a single side without a broken part, andstably supports the bendable area (BA) of the display panel 10. In thisinstance, the connector 463 of the soft material portion 46 may be bentby an external force, and the hard material portions 41 may rotate withrespect to two connectors 463 contacting the respective edges of thefirst surface 411.

That is, regarding the multi-joint member 40B according to an exemplaryembodiment, the connector 463 functions as a rotation shaft of the hardmaterial portion 41. Therefore, the display device 300 according to anexemplary embodiment may omit the rotation combiner for connecting aplurality of hard material portions 41 according to the exemplaryembodiment described above. The connector 463 may include a recessportion 47 in an arc shape, such as a circular arc shape, provided on anopposite side of the support side 43 so as to easily cause a bendingtransformation.

In an embodiment, two hard material portions 41 provided to theoutermost area from among the plurality of hard material portions 41configuring the multi-joint member 40B may be combined to two supportplates 30 by the rotation combiner 50. The rotation combiner 50 may beoutside the respective sides of the display panel 10 in the seconddirection (e.g., the Y direction) and, for example, may be configured tobe a hinge assembly with a hinge shaft.

FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional view of a folded state of a displaydevice shown in FIG. 13; and FIG. 16 shows a partial enlarged view of adisplay device shown in FIG. 15.

Referring to FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the display device 300 is changed tothe folded state when the connector 463 of the soft material portion 46is bent and the bendable area (BA) of the display panel 10 is bent in anarc shape, such as a circular arc shape. In the folded state, the sidesof the multi-joint member 40B may closely contact each other, and therecess portion 47 may be formed to be oval.

In the folded state, an upper side of the connector 463 that is bentrises toward the bendable area (BA), and the bendable area (BA) that isbent applies a pressure to the connector 463 that has risen.Accordingly, the upper side of the connector 463 is compressed andtransformed toward the curvature center (C) of the bendable area (BA)from the initial sixth point P6.

The display device 300 according to an exemplary embodiment may reducethe stress applied to the display panel 10 by the compression andtransformation of the soft material portion 46, and may ease the tensionof the bendable area (BA). The soft material portion 46 is restored intothe initial form when the pressure is removed. The display device 300according to an exemplary embodiment does not need to dispose anadditional rotation combiner among a plurality of hard material portions41 and may thus simplify the configuration of the panel support portion20 and the manufacturing process thereof.

The display device 300 according to an exemplary embodiment isconfigured to be similar to the above-described display device 100except for the configuration in which the soft material portion 46integrally connects the plurality of hard material portions 41.

FIG. 17 shows a cross-sectional view of an unfolded state of a displaydevice according to another exemplary embodiment; and FIG. 18 shows across-sectional view of a folded state of a display device shown in FIG.17.

Referring to FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, regarding a display device 400according to another exemplary embodiment, the panel support portion 20includes a center support plate 31, two multi-joint members 40 providedon respective sides of the center support plate 31, and two supportplates 32 respectively provided on another side of each of the twomulti-joint members 40.

In an embodiment, the center support plate 31 may be provided in thecenter of the panel support portion 20, and the two multi-joint members40 and the two support plates 32 may be disposed symmetrically withrespect to the center support plate 31.

The two multi-joint members 40 may be configured the same as themulti-joint member of one of the above-described exemplary embodimentsexcept for the number of joint members. FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 show aconfiguration that is the same as the multi-joint member 40 describedabove with respect to the display device 100. The multi-joint member 40may be combined to the center support plate 31 and the support plate 32by a rotation combiner (not shown).

In the folded state, the two support plates 32 face each other, andsides of the multi-joint member 40 may closely contact each other. In anembodiment, a plurality of support sides 43 included in the multi-jointmember 40 correspond to a circular arc that is bent by 90 degreesbetween the support plate 32 and the center support plate 31. Thedisplay panel 10 may be divided into three flat areas (FA) correspondingto the center support plate 31 and the two support plates 32, and twobendable areas (BA) corresponding to the two multi-joint members 40.

The display device 400 according to the present exemplary embodiment maybe configured the same or similar to one of the above-describedexemplary embodiments except that the multi-joint member 40 is dividedinto two, and the center support plate 31 is provided between the twomulti-joint members 40.

While this disclosure has been described in connection with what arepresently considered to be some practical exemplary embodiments, it isto be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device comprising: a display panelcomprising a bendable part; and a multi-joint member configured tosupport the bendable part, wherein the multi-joint member comprises: afirst hard material part and a second hard material part sequentiallyarranged in a first direction and mutually combined to be rotated withrespect to each other; and a soft material part comprising a firstportion that is positioned between the first hard material part and thebendable part and contacts the first hard material part, wherein each ofthe first hard material part and the second hard material part comprisesa first surface facing the bendable part and a second surface oppositeto the first surface, and wherein a distance between the first surfaceof the first hard material part and the first surface of the second hardmaterial part is smaller than a distance between the second surface ofthe first hard material part and the second surface of the second hardmaterial part when the display device is in an unfolded state.
 2. Thedisplay device of claim 1, wherein the first portion contacts thebendable part.
 3. The display device of claim 1, wherein the firstportion contacts the first surface of the first hard material part. 4.The display device of claim 3, wherein the first hard material partcomprises a third surface and a fourth surface respectively connected toone edge of the first surface and another edge of the first surface, andthe soft material part comprises a second portion that contacts at leastone of the third surface and the fourth surface.
 5. The display deviceof claim 4, wherein the soft material part comprises a third portionthat contacts the second surface.
 6. The display device of claim 4,wherein the second portion is positioned between the first hard materialpart and the second hard material part.
 7. The display device of claim1, wherein the multi-joint member comprises a plurality of support sidesfacing the bendable part, and the support sides comprise a surface ofthe first portion.
 8. The display device of claim 1, wherein the firsthard material part and the second hard material part are combined toeach other by a rotation combiner, and the rotation combiner is arrangedoutside respective sides of the display panel in a second directioncrossing the first direction.
 9. The display device of claim 8, whereinthe rotation combiner comprises a hinge assembly, and the hinge assemblycomprises a hinge shaft about which the first hard material part and thesecond hard material part are rotatable.
 10. The display device of claim1, wherein the soft material part includes a plate portion facing anentire side of the bendable part, and the plate portion includes a firstoverlapped portion overlapping the first hard material part, a secondoverlapped portion overlapping the second hard material part, and aconnector between the first overlapped portion and the second overlappedportion.
 11. The display device of claim 10, wherein a side of the plateportion facing the bendable part defines a single support side of themulti-joint member.
 12. The display device of claim 10, wherein theconnector includes a recess in a circular arc shape at a side that isopposite to the bendable part.
 13. The display device of claim 10,wherein the soft material part contacts at least two surfaces of thefirst hard material part.
 14. The display device of claim 1, whereineach of the first hard material part and the second hard material partcomprises a material selected from a metal and a high strength plastic,and the soft material part comprises a material selected from siliconeand polyurethane.
 15. A display device comprising: a display panelcomprising a bendable part; and a multi-joint member configured tosupport the bendable part, wherein the multi-joint member comprises: afirst hard material part and a second hard material part sequentiallyarranged in a first direction and mutually combined to be rotated withrespect to each other; and a first soft material part positioned betweenthe first hard material part and the second hard material part, andwherein the first hard material part, the second hard material part, andthe first soft material part directly contact the bendable part.
 16. Thedisplay device of claim 15, further comprising: a second soft materialpart, wherein the first soft material part and the second soft materialpart are positioned on respective sides of the first hard material partin the first direction.
 17. The display device of claim 16, wherein thefirst soft material part and the second soft material part are separatedfrom each other.
 18. The display device of claim 16, wherein acombination of the first hard material part, the first soft materialpart, and the second soft material part forms a trapezoidal shape in across-sectional view.
 19. The display device of claim 16, wherein thefirst soft material part and the second soft material part are combinedto the first hard material part in a protrusion-groove configuration.20. A display device comprising: a display panel comprising a bendablepart; and a multi-joint member configured to support the bendable part,wherein the multi-joint member comprises: a first hard material part anda second hard material part sequentially arranged in a first directionand mutually combined to be rotated with respect to each other; a firstsoft material part positioned between the first hard material part andthe second hard material part; and a second soft material part, whereinthe first soft material part and the second soft material part arepositioned on respective sides of the first hard material part in thefirst direction, wherein the first hard material part, the second hardmaterial part, and the first soft material part contact the bendablepart, and wherein the multi-joint member includes a plurality of supportsides facing the bendable part, and a support side of the plurality ofsupport sides includes a first surface of the first hard material partat a center of the support side, and a surface of the first softmaterial part and a surface of the second soft material part atrespective sides of the first surface.
 21. A display device comprising:a display panel comprising a bendable area; and a panel support disposedon the display panel and comprising a member to support the bendablearea, wherein the member comprises: at least two of hard materialportions sequentially arranged in a first direction and comprising afirst surface facing toward the bendable area in a thickness directionof the bendable area, the thickness direction crossing the firstdirection; and a soft material portion disposed at least partiallybetween the first surface and the bendable area along the thicknessdirection.
 22. A display device comprising: a display panel comprising abendable area; and a panel support disposed on the display panel andcomprising a member to support the bendable area, wherein the membercomprises: at least two of hard material portions sequentially arrangedin a first direction; and a soft material portion disposed at leastpartially between two of the at least two of hard material portions anddirectly contacting the bendable area.